THE MATERI SEIZURE: MAY 2003:
One donkey, 7 horses, 63 dogs and 24 puppies
The PCA Act  says healthy animals must not be seized and even sick animals can be left onsite and improvements made to the care and site.  Leaving animals onsite is often far more humane than moving them.
If animals are seized, "seizure costs" can be demanded by the SPCA.
Most of the photos were taken by the SPCA at the time of its seizure.
See SPCA's own video footage made during the seizure

Return to SPCA seizures home page



These healthy, well looked-after animals, and the ones in the photos below, were seized by the BC SPCA on the grounds that they were in "distress" (without food, water, or shelter; abused or neglected; or in pain or suffering). They were kept in SPCA cells until they were sold. 

The horses, the donkey and some of the dogs had been rescued from abuse and neglect by Gail and Alan and were pets.

 Alan Materi was convicted of cruelty to animals and he and Gail lost everything, their home, their animals, their physical and mental health, and the ability to face their friends and neighbours after being branded animal-abusers by the SPCA, which the media repeated. In the words of ex-SPCA inspector Teresa Bowman, "It is paramount that the SPCA work with the public and not come like thieves in the night. This is a blatant disregard for people and an unfortunate misuse of authority."


Horse with halter scars
(enlarge thumbnail)

Statement written by Teresa Bowman, ex-volunteer SPCA inspector for Penticton, who happened to see the seizure being carried out while both Gail and Alan were away for the day. Gail and Alan's lawyer did not call Teresa Bowman as a witness and did not show her statement to the court.

The Heritage Law Group
Marty Johnson
Barrister and Solicitor
830 Bernard Ave
Kelowna, B.C.
V1Y 6P5

June 13, 2003

My name is Teresa Bowman, and I have been an acquaintance of Allen and Gail Materi for approximately ten years.

My background in animals comes from being raised in a family that imported exotic animals for a living. My father also founded the Herpetological Society of British Columbia in the 1970’s.

I worked in the family business and also for Dr. Glen Slimmer at the cancer research centre at UBC tending to the animals. I have volunteered at the SPCA since the 1970’s and in the 1980’s was part of the team that started the first dog walk program for the SPCA.

I became involved with the SPCA in the Princeton area during the 1990’s and worked closely with Constable Gill Gosslin RCMP/Special Investigator, SPCA. I went out to many homes and ranches where there were complaints of cruelty to animals, with either Gill or Mr. Bob Ogden, manager of the SPCA Penticton.

I spent many hours volunteering my time and knowledge to aid the animals of the Princeton area, caring for and treating seized animals at my home.

When I noticed that the Materi’s were starting a breeding operation at their home, I just naturally wanted to find out how they were running it. I always found the animals in good health or if there was a problem that it was being treated post haste.

Sometimes people would drop off dogs to Mr. Materi, and at his own expense he would treat the animals. On several occasions Mr. Bob Ogden and I would talk about the operation at the Materi home, with Bob going out to check up from time to time. Also there was a time once when Bob said that if it was possible for Allen to foster dogs for the SPCA.

To get to the day of May 29th, 2003, I witnessed an unspeakable act of animal cruelty by the SPCA. Dogs were running for their lives, being chased by every sort of person -- this was so unprofessional as it required noting. By a rule Allen allows his dogs lots freedom and are not just bred and bred, but are actual pets that respond to the love and attention that Allen shows them. 

I returned home and got my husband to drive me over there because I did not want to approach these individuals on my own. I was denied access to the Materi property by the SPCA. It appeared that they were getting ready to leave and I questioned a SPCA guy at the front why the animals were being seized, and also noted that two sheep and four dogs were allowed to remain on site. The rationale behind this is that if the animals were so distressed that they had to be removed or they would surely die, then they are responsible to take all animals to ensure their health and welfare, or are negligent as to the same charges that they file against Mr. Materi.

Any time that animals are transported it adds undue stress to the animals. The SPCA guy stated that the reason for the seizure was that the animals were in distress, further stating that there was inadequate food, water and shelter for these dogs, and that the owner had not shown up all day.

 I left him my name and phone number and also told him I had put the horses in the pasture just the previous week. It should be noted that this is a class “C” highway and drivers should be alert to wildlife and farm animals on the road. I’ve personally put just about everyone’s animals on the 5 Mile (Road) back into their pastures at one time or the other.

Due to longstanding injuries I was unable to do a walk through of the property with my camera until the following morning, but I did check before I left that there was food and also knew that Allen would more than likely be home soon.

At approximately 9:30 am on Friday the 30th of May, I did a walk through of the house and property with my camera.

House: The house was sparsely furnished. There were seven 2 x 3 foot carry cages in the nursery, two large water containers c/w bowls and two large trays of food.

It should be noted that the doors to these pens always stand open so the moms are able to enter and return at will to their young. The floor was incredibly clean for the amount of dogs that were there. I noted that the shaver heads for grooming were soaking in alcohol and there were freshly laundered mats and towels stored above one crate. All enclosures were clean except for a dropping in one cage.

The house appears to be undergoing renovations, tools and about a thousand dollars worth of new flooring were piled neatly in one corner. This in no way jeopardized the safety of the dogs or puppies.

One large nursery approximately 4 x 4 feet was in one corner of the kitchen, containing food and fresh water, two teddy bears and a small rug and one small dropping.

There was a tray of food and plenty of fresh water in the living room. One small bedroom which had obviously been turned into a nursery contained fresh water, food, mats and toys.

The temperature of all rooms was comfortable with plenty of fresh air.

I opened the fridge as that is where most medicine is stored so as not to spoil. Noting that it contained Panacur 10%, Strongid (a dewormer for livestock and dogs), Surolan antifungal, topical antibacterials, Corium 20 ear solution (cleans and soothes ears), Ivomec (antibacterial).

The kitchen and storeroom housed container after container of bleach, Pinesol, and disinfecting soap.

On to the outside: All enclosures had dog houses or huts. There were two farm tractors for hauling various tools and for dropping removal. All pens were clean, the ground was spotless in the pens, some even had grass! Grass will not grow in filth.

There were two roto-tillers for turning the paddocks that were dirt and were functional – I checked. Huge garbage cans stood in each paddock full of dry dog food, large pools and containers full of clean water, bowls of dry dog chow with lots of food.

The dog houses were raised above the ground to keep the chill out and for the comfort and safety of the dogs and were large enough to allow indoor play during the winter season.

The fields were a rich green and approximately two tons of hay was stored. The back trailer (green) housed 21 bags of dry dog food, the freezer had about two 5-gallon buckets of grain for the lambs and was stored properly so no fecal matter from rodents could contaminate it.

New paddocks were constructed as soon as the snow was gone, as I saw them working on them myself. I also noted about two hundred cans of wet dog food.

It is my understanding that the SPCA was at the residence on the 24th of May towards the evening and that no concerns were voiced at that time regarding these dogs. It is my belief that the SPCA should be working with breeders and kennels for the safety of animals.

Had the SPCA voiced any concern, Mr. Materi would have called in a vet to certify the dogs at his home rather than have these animals put through this ordeal.

On the 30th of May, I caught two of the four dogs and hand fed the two sheep, as Mr. Materi was incredibly upset and unable to care for himself. The two dogs were extremely traumatized and took no food or water for two days. I know this because I looked after them myself.

This is a large facility that is well kept. The horses and ponies were a recent addition to the farm. In spite of the weather, it snowed and had low minus temperatures up to and including the long weekend of May, the dogs were in very good condition.

It is paramount that the SPCA work with the public and not come like thieves in the night. This is a blatant disregard for people and an unfortunate misuse of authority.

Should you require any more information, I can be reached at (number removed). I have a lot of information but just wanted to cover the basics. 

Teresa Bowman
 

Gail Collingwood and Alan Materi tell their story...

July 25, 2006

Gail Collingwood
Alan Materi

Kelowna, BC 

To whom it may concern,

Re: Seizure of our healthy dogs, horses, and donkey: May 29, 2003 by the BC SPCA

My name is Gail Collingwood and my husband’s name is Alan Materi.  In 2003, we resided on our property at 2306 Princeton-Summerland Road, Princeton BC.

My husband and I had rescued many abused and neglected dogs and other animals for years out of compassion – even paying for them to get them away from abusers -  before we started to breed dogs for a living in 1994.   The Penticton SPCA manager, Bob Ogden, asked us if we would foster large animals for them so they clearly approved of us.  

The Penticton SPCA was complained to about us three times only, but that was by the same person each time and after the third complaint, Mr Ogden told the complainant that he would have them charged with harassment because when they came to investigate they always found that the complaint was unwarranted.  In fact, Mr Ogden told my husband and I that the dogs looked very well looked after.  He was impressed that the dogs would all wag their tails and were well-socialized.

Penticton SPCA volunteer inspector, Teresa Bowman, came with Mr Ogden once but she also came to our place several times just because she loved animals and liked to visit, and she always impressed  with our facility too - how clean it was, how well-looked after all the animals were, all the medications etc.

Nothing about our breeding operation changed substantially, but the SPCA did.  In 2002 it hired Craig Daniell away from the Ontario SPCA to start to make grandstanding seizures that attracted a lot of media attention.  It seems that we were targeted as a breeder that would make headlines and whose dogs were highly desirable breeds and very healthy too so they would be easy for the SPCA to sell.

On the evening of May 22nd at 8:30 p.m., while I was out and my husband was entertaining friends, Constables Brad Kuich and Kathy Woodward came.  They told my husband that they wanted to do an inspection. It was almost dark but he showed them the food and the hay, but he did not allow them to upset the dogs by going into the kennels.

They kept insisting and finally my husband told them to go away, using strong language.  They didn’t tell Alan that there was anything wrong, they didn’t say that they would come back, and they didn’t give us a written Offence Warning Notice as the PCA Act requires.

I have the telephone records to prove that we were home all that week and the SPCA did not call us once. 

The day of the seizure, May 29th, while my husband and I were out of town, the SPCA, RCMP, and the vet, Dr Teresa Jacobson, came and seized all our animals, except a few loose dogs that they couldn’t catch and the two sheep (both of them were rescued from neglect too). 

The SPCA took our healthy, beautifully groomed, well-fed, well-vetted, well-housed animals and stuffed the dogs into crates in the heat for approximately seven hours.  None of our animals were ever caged before.  And then they took them and put them in miserable concrete cells at the Kelowna SPCA, and milked this for all it was worth in the media. They made monsters of cruelty of us in our community. We have never been cruel to any animal.  We did not deserve to have our animals stolen from us, to be vilified by the SPCA and the media, to be financially and emotionally ruined.  We are not criminals or even bad people.  We were just easy prey for the SPCA.

We could barely afford a lawyer to defend ourselves and weren’t able to find one in time to prevent the SPCA from selling all our animals. 

We did eventually find a lawyer, but for reasons that are now the subject of a Law Society investigation, he did not defend us.  He did not show the video the SPCA made while it was seizing our animals (neither did the SPCA as it showed nothing but healthy groomed animals, lots of clean water, food and shelter).  We obtained this video as a result of the bankruptcy proceeding started by the SPCA to get our property, which they were successful in doing and which ruined us.  The SPCA showed the video to the bankruptcy officer to show what our property was worth, who gave it to us.  The bankruptcy officer told me that she was shocked when she viewed the video because there was nothing wrong with any of the animals. On this video there is the sound of a gunshot and we still do not know which of our pets the RCMP shot on the orders of the SPCA or their vet.

Our lawyer did not cross examine the vet even though we had given him all the proof that her testimony was false.  He did not call Teresa Bowman or even submit her letter, though Teresa was willing to testify.  He did not call our ferrier or submit his letter.  We had five years of vet records and recent bills for $1500 in medications. He did not submit one document. He did not even call me or my husband to testify.   He allowed the SPCA to walk over us with barely a word raised in our defense.

My husband was convicted under the Criminal Code and sentenced to six months house arrest and forbidden to ever own an animal again.  I was not charged, nevertheless the judge said that I was only allowed to own two animals; strange that I was given a sentence without being charged with anything.

My husband was so shamed, so angry at the miscarriage of justice that the SPCA got away with, so sad to have no animals that he loved so much, that he became suicidal and is still not normal.  He is reclusive and depressed and he will never be the same again.  A cheerful, productive man, who far from being criminally cruel to animals, loved animals and saved so many of them from suffering - at his own expense.   My husband is not a murdered or a rapist.  He is not a threat to society, yet he was treated like one by the SPCA and the courts and by the terrible power and misuse of the PCA Act. He is severely medicated, rarely leaves the trailer, and talks about suicide. My health declined severely and I too am being treated for depression.

We were financially ruined and could not even afford the $1,200 the court system demanded for our transcript so that we could try to appeal. 

The SPCA seized all our animals, our livelihood, worth $50,000.  Because of this we were forced into bankruptcy.  Our $250,000 property was sold for $78,000.  Between our mortgage, our legal fees, and our daily bills, not a penny was left and we were forced onto social assistance.

I believe that the SPCA arrogantly went on making seizures without giving Offence Warning Notices, that it is still demanding money for owners or their animals will be sold or killed, still falsely accusing people of cruelty, still abusing the power of the seriously flawed PCA Act.  For the sake of the human and animal victims to come, I beg you to read the attached material and to investigate the SPCA’s abuse of power and to change the PCA Act so that the SPCA cannot continue its police-state tactics.

Gail Collingwood
Alan Materi
Kelowna, BC

 

 
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT (Gail Collingwood's comment in blue)

Citation:R. v. Materi - Excerpt Reasons for JudgmentDate:2005 02 08
2005 BCPC 0085 File No:31919-1
Registry:Penticton
 
IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Criminal Division
 
REGINA
v.
ALLAN MATERI
 
EXCERPT FROM PROCEEDINGS
ORAL REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
OF THE
HONOURABLE JUDGE G. G. SINCLAIR
 
Counsel for the Crown:V. M. Frolick
Counsel for the Accused:J. F. Murray
Place of Hearing:Penticton, B.C.
Date of Hearing:February 8, 2005
Date of Judgment:February 8, 2005
 
 
[1] THE COURT: As stated in my earlier ruling, Mr. Materi is charged with
three counts respectively under 446(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, 446(1)(c) of
the Criminal Code and 24(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. I
am now called upon to decide whether the Crown has proven any or all of
those counts beyond a reasonable doubt.
[2] Count 1 specifically charges Mr. Materi with wilfully permitting to be
caused unnecessary pain, suffering and injury to numerous animals. 446(1)(a)
reads as follows:
(1) Every one commits an offence who
(a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused
unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird.
Subsection (3) helps with the degree of mens rea or intent required, because
it tells me this:
For the purposes of proceedings under paragraph (1)(a) or (b), evidence that
a person failed to exercise reasonable care or supervision of an animal or a
bird thereby causing it pain, suffering, damage or injury is, in the absence
of any evidence to the contrary, proof that the pain, suffering, damage or
injury was caused or was permitted to be caused wilfully or was caused by
wilful neglect, as the case may be.
[3] Count 2 is a charge under 446(1)(c), that is having custody or control
of numerous dogs, horses and other domestic animals did fail to provide
suitable and adequate food, water, shelter and care for them.
[4] And Count 3 under Section 24 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
is a charge of causing or permitting animals to be in distress or to
continue to be in distress. With regard to that count, Section 1 of the Act
provides a definition of distress. Section 1(2) reads as follows:
For the purposes of this Act, an animal is in distress if it is
(a) deprived of adequate food, water or shelter,
(b) injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or
(c) abused or neglected.
[5] Now, for purposes of my decision at this stage, I need only refer in any
great detail -- I have reviewed all of the evidence yesterday and again
today while doing my earlier decision on the warrant, but I refer in detail
only to the evidence of Dr. (Teresa) Jacobson,
(Dr Jacobson is the vet who attended the Schwab seizure and the Douglas seizure) the veterinarian who attended at the
premises on the 29th of May 2003, and I am not going to refer to all of it,
but I am going to summarize it.
[6] She attended, as I say, on the 29th of May 2003. With regard to the
horses briefly, she saw hay but she says not a lot of it. (
7 tons were beside a house trailer.)  The pasture was cropped down closely. It was (May, too early in the year for pasturage to have grown, so they were being fed  hay.) The donkey had injuries on its knees, indicating to her that it had been kneeling down, trying to get its head under a fence to
get food from the other side of that fence.
(Amos the donkey had scarred knees when bought him in November from Keremeos where he had been neglected.)  The donkey was the only animal that had an adequate body condition score, of the equine animals. She saw a
lack of shelter. She said equines need not elaborate shelter, but they do need shelter so they can get out of rain, wind, sun and other elements.
Equines become stressed if out in the elements all day. Their immune systems
become stressed, specifically. (
The SPCA saw the lumber and the partially-built new horse shelter.  They photographed it.  Also new paddocks and runs were being built. All they had to do was tell Alan Materi to have it completed by a certain date.)  It was her opinion that there was not enough pasture and/or hay present for the equines, and it was her opinion given the
equines that there had not been adequate food for some time. There was, in
her opinion, an absence of shelter.
[7] She went through the various equine animals, and I am not going to
summarize them all, but
horse number 1, for example, she gave a body
condition score of 2 of 9. The doctor in Kamloops
was somewhat higher but
she said the horse was thin. It was a nine year old thoroughbred mare.
(When Alan’s friend died, Alan took the horse because the widow was not feeding it properly.  Winter is a hard time for horses to thrive but by the seizure in May, the horse's condition had noticeably improved.  All the equines were dewormed about two weeks before the seizure.) The ribs were visible. Pelvis, hips and shoulders were visible. She termed it as
being severely emaciated, about three hundred pounds underweight. Left front
foot was atrophied, which in her opinion would take a couple of months to
develop. There was a fracture or joint injury, she thought, with regard to
the leg, and a problem was the pain had not been treated. The right front
foot was splayed, due to the horse putting most of its body weight on the
right foot rather than the injured left one. She recommended the horse be
euthanized, because she said the pain and distress were great and the body
condition score was too light.
[8]
Horse number 2 was emaciated. She said it looked as if it was starving,
looked like a bag of bones with skin overtop of the bones. It weighed six to
seven hundred pounds instead of a thousand pounds, had enlarged hocks,
inflammation going on in there required treatment.
[9] Horse number 3, bad hooves needed to be repaired. No hoof care for
several months, she estimated probably up to nine months. Walked awkwardly
and would go lame if the hooves were not trimmed. Painful condition that is,
apparently.
[10]
Horse number 4 had halter injuries from a halter growing into its skin.
That would be very painful, she said. The owner was obviously not paying
attention or was cruel and did not care. She said it would take months for
skin to grow around a halter like she saw with horse number 4.
(Gail told us that Alan bought this horse in November 2002 [See photo above] because it was so badly neglected.  The seizure was in May 2003.  The enlarged photo clearly shows old scars, not fresh raw scars that would have been the case if Alan and Gail had caused them.  The horse was one of a group that spent years of very public neglect in a corral right on Highway 97 between Penticton and Princeton.  Not only was the SPCA frequently complained to about these horses, but I could hardly have missed seeing them as it drove between the two cities.)
[11] On and on it goes with regard to the horses. It was her opinion that
all equines should be removed. She said they had inadequate food, water,
shelter, veterinarian care and farrier care.
(Stan Smith, well-known farrier, wrote a letter saying he was Alan's regular farrier and was slowly working on the overgrown hooves.)
[12] With regard to the dogs, generally, there were eighty-seven of them.
She said the density in the enclosures was very high.
(Video shows low density.) She said dogs need
space for territory, to urinate, to defecate and to eat and drink, all of
those in separate spots. Dogs do not like urine or feces where they eat and
sleep. If they do that in someone else's territory, there are fights. (
Alan was outside almost constantly, dogs were not allowed to fight. All the dogs were allowed in the family home in turn and as can be seen on the video were socialized to each other and to humans.)
Stressors become high. Yeast infections were high.
She said sixty-five to
seventy per cent of these dogs had yeast infections in their ears
. Some dogs
did not want their ears touched, they were in such pain. That condition, if
not treated, can produce deafness. It was affecting the hearing of some of
these dogs.
(In the SPCA’s own video, not one dog is scratching its ears.  When dogs’ ears are infected to the degree that Jacobson claims, they scratch and shake their heads frequently, almost continuously.  No lab test results were produced to support these claims.)   She saw feces in the kennels. In general, she found no place not contaminated by feces or urine. (The SPCA’s own video showed not one piece of feces.) She saw evidence of fighting as a result of the stresses that she recognized and indicated. (The video shows well-socialized dogs wagging their tails and not one injury. Why are there no photos of the injuries Jacobson claims?) She said that the puppies were loaded with worms, which is a problem when there is feces about,
because there are worms in the feces and they get into the dogs, eat the
food inside the dogs, causing anemia.
(No lab results were given as evidence but SPCA photos show deworming medications on hand.) Small breed dogs are less resistant than bigger dogs to parasites, she said, and she then talked more about
aggression being an issue in overcrowding.
(The video showed no dog on dog aggression. During times of extreme distress, such as that caused by an SPCA seizure where uniformed strangers hauled hiding dogs out of their kennels, grabbing and stuffing them into tiny crates, dog aggression escalates hugely.  If there was dog on dog aggression, why didn’t the SPCA video tape it?)
[13] In a house or in a mobile home were bitches and twenty-four puppies.
(Every puppy had been shampooed just the day before. All were shaved down.)
She said when she went in, the bitches grabbed at her leg. They exhibited
open wounds from fighting with each other, because she said dogs will kill
each other's pups.
(The SPCA’s own video shows little dogs who were normally agitated at strangers walking around their house.  Where are the photos of the open wounds?)  They look after their own pups only. The dogs in the house were very thin. (The video doesn’t show any thin dogs.)  Some had distended abdomens, which indicated parasites.  (The SPCA’s video shows one dog has distended abdomen because she is pregnant. The SPCA photographed bottles of Panacur and Strongid deworming medications.  The SPCA provided no lab results of fecal examinations proving parasites.  Alan and Gail say they had vet receipts for $800 the month before for $800 spent on very expensive Surolan (for bacteria or yeast in ears), Ivomec for a variety of parasites (used as a preventative on a regular basis for Septra for coccidia. Also on hand were Fucidin ointment, metonighyzol, broad spectrum antibiotic, cornium ear cleaner.)
 Her opinion was that that was a result of how the dogs were being fed, i.e.
all dogs were competing for what food there was that was provided to them.
She found evidence of larger dogs breeding little ones which is, she said,
and would appear obvious, very uncomfortable for the little one.
(Dr Jacobson said she saw a golden trying to breed to a shih-tzu, Gail says that they did not ever keep the three goldens in with the little dogs, and no one in their right mind would breed a golden with a shih-tzu.  The pregnancy would almost certainly fail and perhaps the shih-tzu would die.  No photo of this was shown in court.)  
[14] She said that the shelter was inadequate. Two golden retrievers, she
mentioned specifically, had to crawl under a ten inch high trailer to get
out of the sun.
(The dogs had access to the interior of the trailers.  Gail believes that the terrified dogs probably hid under the trailer.) She said the water was not suitable. Dogs were running in
and out to cool themselves.
(Alan and Gail filled the pools every day and the dogs had a wonderful time in them.  Gail says shih-tzu’s especially love water.) They had feces matted on them, and obviously health issues would arise there. (No photos of this were shown to the court.) She said dogs do not drink enough water if it is contaminated. (No vet records that show dehydration were shown to the court.) Food she found to be mixed with feces and urine. (No photos of this were shown to the court.)  She said that this situation fell far short in terms of food, water, shelter, environment. (The way the Alan and Gail kept their dogs is starkly superior to the SPCA’s own dark, bare, depressing cells and to the breeding facilities that the SPCA tries to force on dog breeders: concrete kennel runs with dogs isolated their whole lives, like a business production line.)
[15] She went through each and every dog that was there. I do not intend to
do that, but a large number of them, as she said, had yeast infections in
their ears. A number of them had periodontal disease.
(Many of the dogs had been rescued over the years by Alan and Gail, from abusive situations.  All were taken to the vet and some had few teeth, so they were fed softened food.) Others had injuries
that needed treatment and had not been treated, for example,
ulcers in the
eye or other injuries from trauma.
(Gail and Alan had vet records for operations on eyes, being taken care of.) On and on it went with almost each and
every dog.
[16] I do not know -- she says she found in the house medicine and de-wormer
 but most were full or nearly full, and she says today they had expired,
which means maybe defective, maybe not, but it would appear that little if
any of those medicines had been utilized.
(Gail and Alan bought medicines in bulk and decanted them into old bottles so that they could be placed in handy locations.  These bottles had old labels on them, but fresh medicine inside.)  She was overwhelmed by the number
of dogs and the lack of necessities for them.
(The SPCAs own photographic evidence, not shown to the court, shows that all the necessities were provided, plus enrichment in the form of water play, socialization, free running in large pens, and choice of companions and where to sleep.)
[17] I do not know how long the horses were in the condition they were in,
with the exception of those specific couple of things I have mentioned that
the doctor said would have taken months to develop, nor do I know how long
specifically Mr. Materi had the horses and the donkey, but I am satisfied
that their care was woefully lacking.
[18] As for the puppies and the dogs, the evidence satisfies me beyond a
reasonable doubt that what was going on here was short and sweet, plain and
simple, a puppy mill, and they were not being taken care of. And they did
not even come up to minimal standards. So, long and the short, without
trying to go on and on, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, beyond any
doubt, that all three counts have been established and proven.
(EXCERPT CONCLUDED)

AAS comment:  Alan Materi was the only one charged; Gail was not charged.  Alan was convicted and sentenced to six months house arrest and not allowed to own any animals for the rest of his life. Gail and Alan could not afford the almost $4000 that the court demanded for transcripts of the trial in order for them to appeal.  The above document is only the judge’s reasons for judgment and is very brief.  The video does not show one dog with a swollen belly except a pregnant dog.  It does not show one dog scratching it ears, yet Dr Jacobson said most had severely infected ears.  Every dog is clean and groomed, yet Dr Jacobson said they were matted with feces.   The Materis had many recent vet bills showing the purchase of medications, and the fridge was full of fresh medications.  They did what many people did: they daily decanted medicines from large containers into small containers to take to any dogs or animals that needed medicating.  It was the small containers that were empty – of course.  Jacobson told the court that she thought the Materis may have been buying medicine on the “black market”.  This is speculation with no foundation in fact. 

As for the alleged “emaciation” of the horses - the SPCA always claims that.   The SPCA  always claims that hooves are overgrown, but the Materis had bought the one horse with long hooves from a bad situation and were in the process of slowly trimming them back.  Hooves cannot just be chopped off.

All the Materi’s rescued animals always thrived under their care, unlike at the SPCA where many animals sicken and decline or are killed.

Gail and Alan were represented by a lawyer who did not show the video even though he had a copy and did not call ex-SPCA volunteer inspector Teresa Bowman as a witness or any of the other many people who would have told the court a different story, nor did he cross examine the vet, Teresa Jacobson.  The Materis say they paid him $3000 but they appear to have got little for their money. 

The SPCA did not show the court the photos or video it took of the seizure (nor did Gail and Alan's lawyer); but to show the value of Gail and Alan's property, it did show them at the bankruptcy proceedings that were held to satisfy the SPCA's demands for seizure costs of $48,000.

Alan hasn’t been able to get over being publicly branded an animal abuser and is being treated for severe depression and is on suicide watch and Gail is in and out of hospital almost constantly.  Both are being treated for depression.  Alan and Gail used to be productive members of society and now they are penniless, supported by taxpayers, they still cannot hold their heads up in front of the public, live in shame and anger and are powerless.  Does this punishment fit the crime?  And what was the crime?  Was it using coarse language to the SPCA inspector who came at 8:00 at night to “inspect”, who then came back and seized all Alan’s animals?


  Ferrier Stan Smith 12:37 pm 3/14/2004

My name is Stan Smith, I have been Allan Materi's ferrier whenever he owned horses for the past several years. I have many clients so I am a professional in my field. Allan had purchased seven horses and one donkey between late September / 02 and late November / 02 . At Allan’s request I came out on December / 02 I did all the animals hoofs . I was unable to do a complete 100 % job as when Allan purchased these animals the hoofs of four of the horses had been clearly neglected and improperly cared for by the previous owners . Taking note that especially the race horses hoofs were extremely bad.  I asked him why he had purchased this particular horse as it was thin and had exceptionally bad hoofs, also I asked about the others. He said the race horse had been his friend’s who had passed away several months before. Allan’s friend’s widow was going to sell it for dog food, he knew what terrible shape it was in but had made a promise to his friend before he passed away that he would keep it. His friend’s widow had neglected the horse. It was very thin and had very bad hoofs. He said he knew that the four of the horses weren't in the greatest shape when purchased but it would have bothered him to leave them with the previous owners. He said if he had never seen these horses he would never have known their condition but he had seen them so he couldn't leave them. I did note that Allan had about ten tons of hay. Allan told me he would call m and let me know when I could come out again to continue the process to get the hoofs in good shape. This wouldn't happen overnight as it is a slow process. Allan asked me to come out May 9/03 but I was very busy and hadn't gotten to his place yet . By the time I was able to do the animals the S.P.C.A. had taken them.

Judge orders house arrest and lifetime ban on owning animals in BC's largest puppy mill seizure

February 10, 2005. For immediate release.  A judge has sentenced Princeton resident Allan Materi to six months of house arrest as well as a lifetime ban on owning animals in what is believed to be the SPCA's largest seizure of puppy mill dogs in BC. Materi was convicted on February 8th of one count of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code of Canada and one count of causing distress to animals under the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

On May 29, 2003, BC SPCA animal protection officers seized 87 dogs, seven horses, and one donkey from Materi's custody. Twenty-four of the 87 dogs removed from the property were puppies, and pregnant females rescued from the property gave birth to an additional 31 puppies while in the custody of the SPCA. Among the breeds of dogs rescued from the property were golden retrievers, basset hounds, pugs, miniature pinschers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Yorkshire terriers, and Shih Tzu's.

"We are extremely pleased to see the courts taking this kind of offence seriously," says Marcie Moriarty, General Manager of Cruelty Investigations for the BC SPCA. "We have to make it clear to those who profit from the pain and suffering of animals in puppy mills that there are consequences to their actions." She adds that the BC SPCA also urges people to be wary of purchasing puppies through the Internet, newspaper ads and pet stores who cannot provide full documentation about their animals. "The SPCA works hard to shut down puppy mills, but as long as there is a market for puppy mill dogs, unscrupulous breeders will continue to operate." The BC SPCA has rescued more than a thousand abused and emaciated dogs from puppy mills in recent years, but suspects there are at least a hundred puppy mills still operating in BC.

Special Provincial Constable Kathy Woodward, one of the lead animal protection officers in the Materi seizure, says the dogs were suffering from a wide range of medical problems, including broken and fractured limbs, and serious ear and eye infections. "Many of the dogs needed intensive rehabilitation for behavioural problems stemming from their conditions as well as on-going medical treatment," says Woodward.

The SPCA has since found new loving homes for 117 dogs either removed from the property or who were born following the seizure. Homes were also found for the other animals rescued from the property.

The BC SPCA is a not-for-profit organization that relies on donations from the public to fund its work in cruelty investigation, emergency rescue, sheltering, and other services to help animals. Donations are always urgently needed - if you can help, please visit this page to donate online or call 1-800-665-1868.

Further information:
Kathy Woodward, Special Provincial Constable, BC SPCA: (250) 258-2511;
Lorie Chortyk, Community Relations Manager, BC SPCA:
 
(604) 647-1316, 1-800-665-1868, or 830-7179 (cell);
The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public donations. Our mission is to prevent cruelty and to promote the welfare of animals through a wide range of services, including cruelty investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.